The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. The Boletales are now known to contain distinct groups of agarics, puffballs, and other fruiting-body types.
Boletus edulis is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus Boletus. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere across Europe, Asia, and North America, it does not occur naturally in the Southern Hemisphere, although it has been introduced to southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil. Several closely related European mushrooms formerly thought to be varieties or forms of B. edulis have been shown using molecular phylogenetic analysis to be distinct species, and others previously classed as separate species are conspecific with this species. The western North American species commonly known as the California king bolete is a large, darker-coloured variant first formally identified in 2007.
The Boletaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenial surface, instead of gills as are found in most agarics. Nearly as widely distributed as the agarics, the family is renowned for hosting some prime edible species highly sought after by mushroom hunters worldwide, such as the cep or king bolete . A number of rare or threatened species are also present in the family, that have become the focus of increasing conservation concerns. As a whole, the typical members of the family are commonly known as boletes.
Boletus is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi, comprising over 100 species. The genus Boletus was originally broadly defined and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, essentially containing all fungi with hymenial pores instead of gills. Since then, other genera have been defined gradually, such as Tylopilus by Petter Adolf Karsten in 1881, and old names such as Leccinum have been resurrected or redefined. Some mushrooms listed in older books as members of the genus have now been placed in separate genera. These include such as Boletus scaber, now Leccinum scabrum, Tylopilus felleus, Chalciporus piperatus and Suillus luteus. Most boletes have been found to be ectomycorrhizal fungi, which means that they form a mutualistic relationship with the roots system of certain kinds of plants. More recently, Boletus has been found to be massively polyphyletic, with only a small percentage of the over 300 species that have been assigned to Boletus actually belonging there and necessitating the description and resurrection of many more genera.
Caloboletus calopus, commonly known as the bitter beech bolete or scarlet-stemmed bolete, is a fungus of the bolete family, found in Asia, Northern Europe and North America. Appearing in coniferous and deciduous woodland in summer and autumn, the stout fruit bodies are attractively coloured, with a beige to olive cap up to 15 cm (6 in) across, yellow pores, and a reddish stipe up to 15 cm (6 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) wide. The pale yellow flesh stains blue when broken or bruised.
Neoboletus luridiformis, also previously known as Boletus luridiformis and (invalidly) as Boletus erythropus, is a fungus of the bolete family, all of which produce mushrooms with tubes and pores beneath their caps. It is found in Northern Europe and North America, and is commonly known as the scarletina bolete, for its red pores. Other common names is: red foot bolete, dotted stemmed bolete, dotted stem bolete.
Baorangia bicolor, also known as the two-colored bolete or red and yellow bolete after its two-tone coloring scheme of red and yellow, is an edible fungus in the genus Baorangia. It inhabits most of eastern North America, primarily east of the Rocky Mountains and in season during the summer and fall months but can be found across the globe in China and Nepal. Its fruit body, the mushroom, is classed as medium or large in size, which helps distinguish it from the many similar appearing species that have a smaller stature. A deep blue/indigo bruising of the pore surface and a less dramatic bruising coloration change in the stem over a period of several minutes are identifying characteristics that distinguish it from the similar poisonous species Boletus sensibilis. There are two variations of this species, variety borealis and variety subreticulatus, and several other similar species of fungi are not poisonous.
Boletus pinophilus, commonly known as the pine bolete or pinewood king bolete, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Boletus found throughout Europe and western Asia. Described by Italian naturalist Carlo Vittadini in 1835, B. pinophilus was for many years considered a subspecies or form of the porcini mushroom B. edulis before genetic studies confirmed its distinct status. In 2008, B. pinophilus in western North America were reclassified as a new species, B. rex-veris. B. pinophilus is edible, and may be preserved and cooked.
Boletus rex-veris, commonly known as the spring king bolete, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Boletus found in western North America. The large, edible fruiting bodies known as mushrooms appear under pine trees, generally in May to June. It has a pinkish to brownish cap and its stem is often large and swollen, and the overall colour may have an orange-red tinge. As with other boletes, the size of the fruiting body is variable. Boletus rex-veris is edible, and may be preserved and cooked.
Exsudoporus frostii, commonly known as Frost's bolete or the apple bolete, is a bolete fungus first described scientifically in 1874. A member of the family Boletaceae, the mushrooms produced by the fungus have tubes and pores instead of gills on the underside of their caps. Exsudoporus frostii is distributed in the eastern United States from Maine to Georgia, and in the southwest from Arizona extending south to Mexico and Costa Rica. A mycorrhizal species, its fruit bodies are typically found growing near hardwood trees, especially oak.
Butyriboletus appendiculatus is an edible pored mushroom that grows under oaks and other broad leaved trees such as beech. It is commonly known as the butter bolete. It often grows in large colonies beneath the oak trees, and is frequently found cohabiting with old oaks in ancient woodland. It is relatively rare in Britain. Its stipe and pores are often bright yellow and its flesh stains bright blue when cut or bruised.
Aureoboletus mirabilis, commonly known as the admirable bolete, the bragger's bolete, and the velvet top, is an edible species of fungus in the Boletaceae mushroom family. The fruit body has several characteristics with which it may be identified: a dark reddish-brown cap; yellow to greenish-yellow pores on the undersurface of the cap; and a reddish-brown stem with long narrow reticulations. Aureoboletus mirabilis is found in coniferous forests along the Pacific Coast of North America, and in Asia. Unusual for boletes, A. mirabilis sometimes appears to fruit on the wood or woody debris of Hemlock, suggesting a saprobic lifestyle. Despite occasional appearances to the contrary, Aureoboletus mirabilis is mycorrhizal, and forms close mutualistic associations with hemlock roots.
Xerocomellus zelleri, commonly known as Zeller's bolete, is an edible species of mushroom in the family Boletaceae. First described scientifically by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill in 1912, the species has been juggled by various authors to several genera, including Boletus, Boletellus, and Xerocomus. Found solely in western North America from British Columbia south to Mexico, the fruit bodies are distinguished by their dark reddish brown to nearly black caps with uneven surfaces, the yellow pores on the underside of the caps, and the red-streaked yellow stems. The fungus grows in summer and autumn on the ground, often in Douglas fir forests or on their margins. The development of the fruit bodies is gymnocarpic, meaning that the hymenium appears and develops to maturity in an exposed state, not enclosed by any protective membrane.
Suillellus amygdalinus is a fungus of the bolete family found in western North America. The fruit bodies, or mushrooms, are characterized by their thick, red to brown caps, red pores, and the strong bluing reaction observed when the mushroom tissue is injured or cut. The cap can reach diameters of up to 12 cm (4.7 in) and the stipe 9 cm (3.5 in) long by 3 cm (1.2 in) thick at maturity. This mushroom has been found in manzanita and madrone woodlands of central California north to southern Oregon. Although the edibility of the mushroom is not known with certainty, it may be poisonous, and is not recommended for consumption. Other similar red-pored, bluing boletes from North America, including Rubroboletus eastwoodiae, Boletus luridiformis, and B. subvelutipes, can be distinguished from S. amygdalinus either by the color of the cap, the degree of reticulation on the stipe, or by location.
Boletus fibrillosus is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Boletus found in western North America. The fruiting bodies are found in mixed coastal forests in the fall, usually singly or in small groups. The cap is up to 17 cm wide, buff to brown to dark brown in color, and has a wrinkled to finely fibrous texture. The tubes are yellow, while the flesh is white to buff and does not stain when cut. The stem is yellowish at the top, brown otherwise, with a reticulate texture, and mycelium enshrouding the bottom. The holotype was collected in Mendocino County, California. The species is edible, but considered to have inferior taste to other edible boletes such as B. edulis, which it is often confused with.
Boletus auripes, commonly known as the butter-foot bolete, is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. First described from New York in 1898, the fungus is found in eastern Asia, Central America, and eastern North America from Canada to Florida. It is a mycorrhizal species and typically grows in association with oak and beech trees.
Butyriboletus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2014 by mycologists David Arora and Jonathan L. Frank to accommodate "butter bolete" species that were shown by molecular analysis to be phylogenetically distinct from Boletus. Butyriboletus contains 24 ectomycorrhizal species found in Asia, Europe, North America and north Africa.
Boletus rubriceps is a species of bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae. Although it was officially described as new to science in 2014, the bolete had previously been reported as either Boletus edulis or B. pinophilus. Molecular analysis showed that it was sufficiently different from other morphologically similar Boletus species to warrant designation as a distinct species. It is found in the southwestern United States and southern Rocky Mountains, where it associates with spruce, pine, and sometimes fir. The fruit bodies are edible and highly sought after; they are often sold in farmer's markets of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, and are used in some restaurants. The specific epithet refers to the reddish color of the caps. Common names given to the bolete include "Ruby Porcini", "Rocky Mountain red-capped king bolete” or “Rocky Mountain red".
Imleria badia, commonly known as the bay bolete, is an edible, pored mushroom found in Eurasia and North America, where it grows in coniferous or mixed woods on the ground or on decaying tree stumps, sometimes in prolific numbers. Both the common and scientific names refer to the bay- or chestnut-coloured cap, which is almost spherical in young specimens before broadening and flattening out to a diameter up to 15 cm (6 in). On the cap underside are small yellowish pores that turn dull blue-grey when bruised. The smooth, cylindrical stipe, measuring 4–9 cm long by 1–2 cm thick, is coloured like the cap, but paler. Some varieties have been described from eastern North America, differing from the main type in both macroscopic and microscopic morphology.
